The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has started testing a new vaccine designed to protect against West Nile virus. The virus, which is spread through mosquito bites, resulting in almost 100 deaths in the United States last year, and infected more than 2,200 other patients.
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| The mosquitoes of the Culex quinquefasciatus type which is the vector of the spread of West Nile virus. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1NKD52J) |
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH, said West Nile virus has emerged as a serious health threat in the United States since the first appeared in the country in 1999.
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| Mosquitos are sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 16, 2012. U.S. Health officials say there's been an alarming increase in the number of West Nile cases. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1NKD4f8) |
The clinical trial will test the safety of the experimental vaccine and its ability to generate immunity. Fifty men and women will be healthy respondents, who were randomized to receive either a low dose of vaccine, a higher dose, or placebo.
NIH said the virus used to make the vaccine that is not active and can not cause West Nile virus infection. In studies in mice, the vaccine was effective to produce immunity that protects mice against deadly dose of the virus. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]
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